Lions have shot at all-American safety

February 3, 2010

While it looks like Penn State's prospects to land four-star Georgia defensive tackle Mike Tucker might be fading, another big-time southern prospect is showing last-minute interest in the Nittany Lions that could make today's national college football signing day very interesting.

Keenan Allen, the U.S. Army All-American from Greensboro, N.C. ranked as the top safety prospect in the country by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, reportedly has Penn State and California as the final two colleges he is considering after he decomitted from Alabama.

The 6-foot-2, 194-pounder, who also plays wide receiver at North Guilford High School, also appears to have cut ties with Clemson. The Crimson Tide and Tigers were with Penn State as Allen's early favorites when he first began to gather national attention as a junior.

However, Penn State seemed to drop out of the picture early for Allen, the fifth-best prospect in the country according to Scout.com.

The general feeling is that California is the odds-on favorite to land Allen, because he made an official visit to Berkeley last weekend and did not make one to Penn State. Allen is familiar with Penn State, though - he attended the Nittany Lions' 2008 game against Illinois, and, reportedly, his father is a State College native.

In addition, Allen is receiving guidance from Otis Yelverton, who helped tutor current Nittany Lion reserve defensive end Kevion Latham when he was at Greensboro Page High School.

It's rumored that Allen is hoping to find a college where he can play with half-brother Zach Maynard, a dual-threat quarterback who is transferring out of the University of Buffalo. Maynard visited Clemson with Allen.

Penn State, which already has 20 verbal commitments and seven plays in this class having enrolled last month, is believed to be very tight on scholarships. However, it is accepted that the Lions will find a way to make it work should Allen surprise the experts and pick them.

Thornton, meanwhile, is reportedly down to Georgia and Kentucky as well as Penn State. Both he and Allen are scheduled to announce their decisions this morning.